Pickton appeared via video link in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster from Kent, a maximum security prison in Agassiz, B.C.
Prosecutor Melissa Gillespie says the Crown wants to adjourn the matter of setting a date for three or four weeks and then apply to have the second trial after the appeal is completed.
But Pickton's lawyer Peter Ritchie, who's bowing out from the second trial, says accepting the Crown's approach could delay that trial a couple of years, adding Pickton is anxious to proceed.
Pickton was convicted on six charges of second-degree murder in the killing of six women whose remains were found on his Port Coquitlam pig farm, and was sentenced to life in prison with 25 years before he can apply for parole.
The defense has appealed the convictions, arguing that the judge made several errors in allowing in evidence that was crucial to obtain the conviction.
But the crown also filed an appeal, arguing that the judge's instructions to the jury were wrong and Pickton should have been convicted for first-degree murder.
Grieving family members have petitioned B.C.'s attorney general to push for a second trial on the remaining counts, though Pickton would not face a greater punishment than his current sentence.
The hearing has been adjourned until Monday.
With files from The Canadian Press
